What I Want: The December 08 Marvel Solicitations

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #20
NEW AVENGERS #48
MS MARVEL #34
These solicits are classified until the release of Secret Invasion #8.

Okay, fine, be that way.


AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #579
We have excess of extra “M”s so: This month starts with a mountain of massively malevolent mayhem from the minds of Mark Waid (52, CAPTAIN AMERICA) and Marcos Martin (DR. STRANGE: THE OATH). With Spidey trapped underground, the Web-Head learns more about the surprising new cast-member who promises to cause trouble for him and his old pall JJJ.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #580
When a bizarre criminal endangers his Aunt May, Peter Parker is determined to bring him to justice. But who is this strange, faceless felon? How can Spider-Man stop a guy who can slip through his webbing? And, hey, what's Pete’s pal Joe Robertson been up to? New York Times best selling author and veteran Spider-writer Roger Stern and artist Lee Weeks (SPIDER-MAN: DEATH & DESTINY, CAPTAIN MARVEL) join forces to tell the story we could only call "Fill in the Blank!" Honest!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #581
"The Trouble with Harry" (or "Harry Osborn and the Chamber of Secrets")
It would sure help HARRY OSBORN if he could remember the completely logical, non-magical, and totally plausible way he came back from the dead. A skill like that could be useful, now that his ex-brother-in-law, THE MOLTEN MAN, is out to kill him!

Actually I need to ask the fourteen-year-old, since this is for her, whether she's liking this enough to keep getting it.


AVENGERS/INVADERS #7 (of 12)
Marvel’s biggest self-contained story of the year continues! Featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and spanning the generations from 2008 to the war-torn days of World War II! Surrounded by a trio of enemies they thought long-vanquished, The Avengers are victims of one of the most powerful pieces of technology in the Marvel Universe. Meanwhile, the Invaders find themselves trapped in an alternate reality that promises to destroy its most powerful member as the countdown to Armageddon begins.

"Self-contained," such a good thing.


CAPTAIN AMERICA #45
It's Bucky versus Batroc and a mysterious foreign agent from his past as the Winter Soldier, as he fights to keep a secret super-weapon from falling into enemy hands! But the shocking ending of this three-parter brings a new twist to the mission... and sends our New Captain America in search of whatever is left of his old comrades, the Invaders.

Oooh, Batroc!


CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR: AMERICA FIRST!
In this second installment of a series exploring the storied history of America's greatest champion, Howard Chaykin pulls back the Iron Curtain on one of Captain America's wiliest nemeses -- Soviet Russia and her never-ending parade of spies, saboteurs, fifth columnists...so many we had to make this story double-sized! Before his role in “The Death of Captain America,” no one was more patriotic than the Cap of the Fifties, even if he does have Steve Rogers’ shoes to fill. Unfortunately, Nick Fury, a newly minted operative of the CIA, isn't about to let him off the hook that easily. But Cap and Fury better start working together, or they'll find themselves buried in Reds! PLUS: a bonus reprinting of a classic Cap tale from the fabulous fifties!

For some reason this interests me. I am not ordinarily a big Chaykin fan, art-wise, but I suspect for this book it'll work.


CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #8
Pete Wisdom couldn't save John the Skrull. He couldn't save anyone he cared for. Being in his unit can be fatal. So now all else seems lost, now Plokta's engine for making Mindless Ones is threatening the world... what will he sacrifice to save the Black Knight? Widescreen horror action with passion, as only Marvel makes it.

Long as Black Knight and Spitfire are in this book, I am probably there.


MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: SECRET INVASION AFTERMATH
As SECRET INVASION draws to its exciting conclusion, SPOTLIGHT will be on hand to capture the effects the mega-event of 2008 has had on the Marvel Universe! We'll check in with SI maestro Brian Michael Bendis as he catches his breath from orchestrating the biggest alien confrontation in Marvel history, and see what he's done with the heroes who stood in harm's way — and those who were Skrulls all along! Look for sneak previews of SI spinoffs like SECRET WARRIORS and the long-awaited SPIDER-WOMAN series, where we take series creators aside and learn all their secrets! Plus: plenty of lists for readers eager to track all the movements of Skrulls past, present and....future? The secrets of the SECRET INVASION, unlocked in this month's MARVEL SPOTLIGHT!

This is actually a big maybe, but I'm embarrassed to admit how much I'm tempted.


MARVEL ADVENTURES THE AVENGERS #31
Good Things Come to Those Who Bait! With the Avengers vacationing on the sunny California beaches, Tigra hopes to finally conquer her fear of water, but things go sour when Iron Man challenges Luke Cage to a deep sea fishing contest and the two of them, ahem, bend the rules a bit. Iron Man sends a sonar pulse to stir up the really big fish, unfortunately rousing not only a monster from the deep, but also one seriously angry Prince of Atlantis...Namor, the Sub-Mariner! Lucky the Avengers brought the Hulk along! It's the slugfest to end all slugfests, and it does nothing to help Tigra's fear of water!

For the nine-year-old, but I like it too!


MOON KNIGHT #25
CONCLUSION TO “THE DEATH OF MARC SPECTOR”
Norman Osborn ain’t fooling around no more. He’s brought out his big gun. It’s Moon Knight versus Bullseye -- and only one will survive. For real.

Honestly this one has been dragging a bit but I'm still interested.



PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #5 (of 5)
Patsy’s adventure in the great white north comes to a close. She’s wrestled wolves, fought yetis, dazzled her foes with grace and charm and hit things – lots of things! It will have all been for nothing though if she can’t return the mystical heir to her home. But what if the heir doesn’t want to return?

This has been a fun book so far, despite the actual plot.


RUNAWAYS #5
Written by TERRY MOORE
Pencils & Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
The chase is on! The Majesdanians have returned and want blood. Can the Runaways run fast enough to escape? Will Karolina and Xavin ever look at each other the same way again? Can Chase get out of his new job early enough to help them?

For the fourteen-year-old, assuming she wants it (she's only seen one issue so far, which I don't think is enough for her to judge the series, but really it's up to her).


SHE-HULK: COSMIC COLLISION
It's a double-sized sci-fi spectacular, guest-starring the Lady Liberators (fresh from the pages of The Hulk) and the female heroes from the Guardians of the Galaxy! When She-Hulk finds herself suddenly transported off-world, it’s up to her and a collection of the universe’s most powerful heroines including Storm, Thundra, Valkyre and the Invisible Woman - to figure out what’s going on...before a brand-new foe annihilates them!

Yeah, okay, we'll try this one.


SHE-HULK #36
From the pages of HULK, it's Invisible Woman, Thundra, and Valkyre - The Lady Liberators! She-Hulk's fellow heroines hold She-Hulk back from delivering ultimate justice? And is our gamma-powered glamazon becoming more savage than sensational?

Haven't been disappointed in this one yet.


YOUNG X-MEN #9
The two-part juggernaut, "The Y-Men" concludes as the Young X-Men face the next generation of super-powered villains. Who could be more threatening than evil mutants? You'll have to read this issue to find out!

The only x-book we get.


DEADPOOL #5
This is what Deadpool has to resort to, only days after single-handedly saving the entire planet from Skrulls? Oh, that’s right—nobody knows about that...Deadpool didn’t even want this job. But here he is anyway, in some dank corner of Eastern Europe, going toe-to-toe with an undead plastic surgeon and his flesh-eating clientele, contracted by the head of a greasy paramilitary unit to avenge the zombification of the guy’s young, ex-model trophy wife -- and all because Wade’s dead broke.

We have high hopes for this title.